Car crash victim's body not found for four months

A police force is under investigation after the body of a car crash victim lay undiscovered for four months.

A police force is under investigation after the body of a car crash victim lay undiscovered for four months.

Jason Rushton, 38, was seen staggering away from the crash and blood was found on the driver's airbag.

The police helicopter arrived half an hour later and conducted a 30-minute search of the area, followed by a further search the following day.

Police inquiries then traced Mr Rushton to his last known address, but neighbours and his former partner did not know his whereabouts.

A decision was made that no further inquiries were possible and the search was wound down.

But a week ago his body was discovered by a dog walker in Coatham Marsh, Redcar, Cleveland - just 700 yards from the crash. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is now looking into Cleveland Police's response to last December's tragedy.

An spokesman for the IPCC said: "We will want to determine whether anything could or should have been done differently."

Cleveland Police said: "The investigation is being managed by the IPCC and we await to see if there are any learning points."